IslamicFinance.de

Nakheel, the real-estate unit of Dubai government-owned conglomerate Dubai World, said the Dubai Financial Support Fund has given it enough money to repay its $750 million Islamic bond, or Sukuk, that matures on Jan. 16.

Dubai developer seems to be working towards achieving the required 95% approval for restructuring.
Nakheel has achieved 91 per cent acceptance from its trade creditors for restructuring its debts and is working to reach the threshold limit of 95 per cent.

Kuwait's central bank has rejected a request by Islamic lenders to grant them exceptions from liquidity ratio requirements and allow for the withdrawal of excess liquidity. This is the second time the central bank has rejected such a proposal.

Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit is seeking to increase its capital resources to meet the growing demand.
It is a clear indication that trade and investment flows are currently very strong in member countries.

Bank Negara Malaysia is offering up to two new Islamic banking licences to foreign firms to set up banks with at least $1 billion of paid-up capital. The industry hopes that this will spur more lending and create bigger Islamic banks that can compete with global lenders.
Bankers say the bid to create a well-capitalised Islamic bank has been fraught with difficulties such as a struggle to raise sufficient capital and disagreement as to where the lender should be located.

The following borrowers are expected to sell Islamic bonds: MALAYSIA, YEMEN, DUBAI, GULF INVESTMENT CORP., FRANCE, SAUDI INTERNATIONAL PETROCHEMICAL CO., GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., PALESTINE MONETARY AUTHORITY, NAKHEEL PJSC, SABAH CREDIT CORP., CREDIT AGRICOLE SA, NOOR ISLAMIC BANK, NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK, KPJ HEALTHCARE BHD., EMIRATES TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., SENEGAL, ALBARAKA BANKING GROUP., ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK, THAILAND, KNM GROUP BHD., CAGAMAS BHD., SAUDI ARABIAN OIL CO., GAMUDA BHD., EGYPT, PT BANK MUAMALAT INDONESIA, SENAI-DESARU EXPRESSWAY BHD., MALAYSIA DEBT VENTURES BHD, INDONESIA, TURKEY, KAZAKHSTAN, PHILIPPINES, SAUDI ELECTRICITY CO., EMIRATES INTEGRATED TELECOMMUNICATIONS CO., LAFARGE MALAYAN CEMENT BHD..

India's Bombay Stock Exchange launched a share index of sharia-compliant companies on Monday in an attempt to open stock-trading to more Muslims.
The BSE TASIS Sharia 50 consists of the largest and most liquid sharia-compliant stocks within the BSE 500 index.
The index would attract Islamic and other "socially responsible" investors both in India and overseas.

Islamic bonds are outperforming emerging-market debt for a second month as new note sales rebound, Malaysia boosts spending on roads and power plants and confidence returns to the Persian Gulf.
Islamic debt sales increased 34 percent in the second half compared with the first six months.

The construction and real estate sectors in Dubai have seen a decrease of almost 5%.
Opportunistic investment funds see a 6 month window to capitalize on Dubai's growing inventory of distressed commercial and residential property, often sold below original purchase price.
The property and construction sectors are the worst hit in the emirate by the global economic downturn.

Kuwaiti Islamic firm Investment Dar appointed a new panel of creditors to negotiate its debt restructuring after a previous committee quit over a disagreement.
Four banks from the previous group remain on the coordinating committee and will be joined by two new lenders after a dispute over the terms of the restructuring led to a breakdown in negotiations in November.

Standard Chartered Plc and Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd. plan to offer Shariah-compliant derivatives in Malaysia that will allow investors to hedge against interest rates and commodity prices.
Bank Islam Malaysia, the country’s oldest Islamic lender, will offer swaps that allow two parties to exchange different forms of payments from an underlying asset. Standard Chartered, the U.K. bank that earns most of its profit from emerging markets, will begin selling contracts in the first quarter that provide protection from fluctuations in the cost of items such as rice and oil.

KFHR Limited prepared a report on the Islamic Sukuk market.
The report notes the following:
- In 2011 the Sukuk market will be driven by the recovery made in the global economic activities, flexible monetary policies, and sovereign fund-raising efforts to support economic growth as well as the revival of private sector projects
- the entry of new players in the emerging markets, as well as new non-Islamic exporters willing to take advantage of Sukuk market with potential debut in Thailand, Japan and Europe, which will boost demand for Islamic Sukuk

Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of countries that offer humanitarian aid to calamity-hit people across the world.
The Kingdom offered 1.9 percent of its national income last year in humanitarian aid and relief assistance to people suffering from calamities and crises across the world.
Minister of Higher Education Khaled Al-Anqari opened the conference on Sunday on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
The event has been organized by Madinah Islamic University in collaboration with the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (KAFRA).

Nakuru town's friendly business environment has brought along escalating costs of doing trade such as higher rates of renting housing, whether residential or for commercial purposes.
There is a 100 per cent increase with prices still on the upward swing. This rise has partly been blamed on the influx of foreigners who pay for rental housing for up to two years in advance, effectively locking out those who can only pay rent by the month.

Beginning with next year the annual grant for the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) will be raised to RM2 million.
The government had earlier raised the quantum of the annual grant to the congress from RM350,000 in 2009 to RM1 million this year.

International Islamic Financial Market wishes to announce the appointment of Mr. Mahmoud AbuShamma as its first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for a three-year tenure effective 1 February 2011.
Mr. Mahmoud will lead a team of Islamic finance experts and professionals to operationalise the IILM's Mr. Mahmoud has served as the Global Head of HSBC Amanah Coverage at HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, Dubai in charge of critical HSBC Amanah relationships globally, including Governments, high networth individuals and top corporate clients.

Great Eastern Takaful Sdn. Bhd. as commenced business in Malaysia.
Malaysia-based Great Eastern Takaful offers comprehensive takaful, or Islam-compliant insurance products and services, with the aim to achieve 180 million ringgit (US$57.2 million) in total weighted contributions for its first year.
In September, Bank Negara granted new licenses for family takaful to four joint venture entities led by foreign and local insurance and financial companies. The four new family takaful licences were granted to joint ventures led by Great Eastern, ING Groep NV, American International Assurance Bhd. and AMMB Holdings Bhd.

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has successfully issued its second ever Sukuk (Islamic bonds) in Malaysia. The bond issue was for 500 million ringgit and was issued under NBAD’s MYR Medium Term Notes (MTN) 3 billion programme. The transaction has a strong distribution across a wide investor base with a breakdown of fund managers 33%, insurance companies 27%, financial institutions 10%, and other corporations 30%.

CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd (CPIAM) is targeting about US$100mil in sales for its Dublin domiciled collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) III umbrella syariah funds by the end of next year.
These funds will act as a gateway for the company to launch more funds worldwide.
The three funds are Islamic Global Emerging Markets Fund, Islamic Asia Pacific ex-Japan Fund and Islamic Asean Equity Fund.

General Electric International Incorporation may tap the Islamic bond market again in "the near future," after the company last year became the first U.S. corporate to issue a sukuk.
GE Capital, the company's financial arm, sold $500 million in sukuk in November last year for general corporate funding.